Chord Embellishments and Song Connections

For more in depth lessons on this kind of topic, do check out the Chord Explorer Course.

Monday night and we’re back with more chord progressions and embellishments to level up your playing. After checking in with the community and some great open mic Sunday highlights, we dive into a handful of classic songs that share more DNA than you might expect.

Songs covered include:

• Light My Fire by The Doors - Am, F#m, G, A and D cowboy chords, with a B7 for a closer approximation of the original, and a look at what makes that chord progression so distinctly spooky

• The Passenger by Iggy Pop - the key strumming technique (down up up), chord muting with the fretting hand, and why thinking about rhythm rather than downs and ups is the real breakthrough

• Boys of Summer by Don Henley - capo second fret, key of E, C#m shape at the 11th fret, A, B and E power chords, with an A to Asus2 movement for the middle section

• Best of You by Foo Fighters - pedal tones with open strings ringing throughout, C#m, A5 and B power chord variations, and the tremolo strumming rhythm (3 3 3 and 2 1 2 3)

• There Goes My Hero by Foo Fighters - same key of E shapes, open strings ringing out, and how it all connects to the same harmonic language

• Say It Ain’t So by Weezer - tying everything together and showing how these songs all live in the same world

The big takeaway tonight: learn stuff in context, not in isolation, and transpose. More of this kind of chord connection work is in the Chord Explorer course, linked at the top of the description and below.